I must be dreaming

Many already know this but I have grown and now I am almost a 7^th grader. Much time has gone by since the accident and everyone acts like it’s the most terrifying experience . I had drowned.

It was a sad thing but it has never bothered me ever since it happened. I’m actually glad it happened because if it didn't I would have never seen heaven and lived to tell everyone how amazing and true to the Bible it was!

   I awoke in a field of green grass that was all there was for millions of miles, except for the lake in front of me. I jumped in and when I came up I was in a palace looking place. There were at least two angel guardians on each side of the stairway I was now standing on. God was a human looking figure with no features but just pure light. He was light itself. In the bible it says that Jesus was on Gods right and he was!!! He was on my left Gods right they were both sitting in their thrones looking at me even though I could not see any physical features on God I knew he was looking at me. Jesus on the other hand looked exactly like the Art work by Akiane Kramarik that you see in Heaven is for Real. Which I saw after this milestone had happened, Jesus looked exactly the same which is an answer to most of Christian’s simple question, what does Jesus look like? There is your answer.

I ran up the stairs and hugged God but I awoke in the hospital before I could really hug him. Except a few months later when I was at my extreme faith camp for North wood church I was scared to go for some reason and then God had told me that I did hug him before I woke up. Ever since He told me that I haven’t been afraid of anything! I love all animals and bugs with purposes even though they might hurt you but if you have no fear of bugs (even spiders) or animals they won’t hurt you. They have fear too and they feel what we feel and that’s why they might sting, scratch, or bite you.  I’m not afraid of the dark. Or the evil of the world, of drowning again, or the devil. Because the devil has no power over anyone as long as you keep your faith in God and trust him with all of your power and life. When you accept God into your heart He guards you with all of His power until your last day. Even when you turn Him down he loves you no matter what. He counts the stars and knows them by name he created all. He holds each universe in the palm of his hand like a grain of sand. We are so small yet he loves us anyway. He could easily throw us away. But he loves us no matter what.       STAND STRONG! 

I've been giving up on myself lately and trying to throw all this away but I'm going to try to start coming back now.
I've been giving up on myself because I've been having a hard time lately with my epilepsy and I always get mad at myself when I come to the thought of how easy I have it it's just not fair ,not for me, but for them. The others with epilepsy they can't even go out of the hospital and see the world with their own eyes without having a seizure or even see an animal by not looking at a book but my actively seeing them , just because they can't leave. A hospital is converting and filled with loving doctors and nurses this is true, but it is hard to take in that they may not be able to see correctly or even think straight or mostly walk again or never before. And I have epilepsy and just sit there and don't do anything active I just sit. And I feel guilty for not helping.so I'm going to make a week to help the people with epilepsy and ( of course if it is ok with the perents and inside the hospital) and be a friend to them and do what there favorite thing to do is with them that they can't do very much and I want to embrace a smile on my face and there's when I am able to make them happy and forget about the pain they are suffering.

Just Because

Just Because

 Most people would think that because u have epilepsy, it’s very hard to do specific things. This is true but, that does not mean you can’t do those things at all.

I play soccer and there is nothing wrong with doing that, I love to play it so I play it! I don’t care if I do my mini seizures, I’m having fun! If there is something that is your talent or it’s something you love to do, do it!

I focus when I’m in goal and I use to play other positions in the field but when I’m in goal I don’t have the seizures at all. And I feel happy when I’m in goal. So if there is something that makes you happy you should go for it.

 Some kids at my school said that I could not play with them or do stuff with them because of my epilepsy .In P.E my classmates made me feel bad when I messed up the game on something or slowed everything down because of my seizures, and some of them yelled at me. And so did some of my old coaches for soccer.

But what I should have done was told them I have epilepsy and I was trying my best to prevent it.

And since I have light triggered epilepsy all I have to do is get my sunglasses, medicine and a hat and I have done my job to prevent my seizures. Remember to do what you love and have a great time with it

Developing Epilepsy

 I have to take medicine like everyone else with epilepsy. 1 in the morning 2 at night. Sometimes it’s hard because I don’t remember to take it and my chance of having another seizure increases. I do regular things like everyone else but when I’m in the sun I have mini-seizures. It gets really annoying after a while because I can’t do much while having one, since I space out.

 I first began developing epilepsy when I was 8 years old. I was playing soccer, when in the middle of the field I started to have a mini seizure and no one knew what it was. One minute I was dribbling the ball down the soccer field, the next I was standing there waving my hand back and forth across my forehead.  No one could understand why I couldn't hear them yelling my name.  Then my Mom asked if I could hear her when I was "waving," but no, I  I couldn't.  I kept going to the doctor and 2 years later we found out that it was epilepsy but it wasn’t too bad so I did not take medicine.  Now it has developed a lot and since the first gran mal seizure I have been taking medicine 24-7 2 times a day and I’ve been getting better since.

 So epilepsy may be hard but there still are ways to help you manage your every day life.

An Epilepsy Story

Epilepsy:  STAND STRONG

Lots of people don’t know what epilepsy is, that’s why I decided to tell others about it.  Or, show them.

My name is Rileigh and I’m in 5^th grade. I had a seizure recently. All of my friends and people I didn’t even know were worried about me. The seizure happened at school during recess.  My principal came out with the nurse and brought a wheelchair.  They put me in it and I was brought inside. I couldn’t walk straight without assistance for three hours. Before I was picked up from school, but after the seizure I was blacked out for two minutes. First I started losing my balance, then I fell on my knees and my head started moving and wobbling back and forth back and forth, I couldn’t control it! Then, I blacked out.

Later on I came to school with a chain on my neck and it read: Rileigh Pena/Light –triggered Epilepsy. My friends and classmates wanted to know what it was and meant. A few days later my mom and I decided that I would tell my class what it was and what epilepsy is.

I came to school the next day and asked my teacher if in my free time I could tell the class about my epilepsy. She said yes and so I did, I told the class that epilepsy is a disorder that makes you space out for a time. But in my case I am light triggered so  whenever the sun is out at the same time I am, I will have a mini-seizure  which is when my hand goes back and forth across my  fore-head and I also space out.  My classmates asked lots of questions I was happy to answer.

Since then I have been trying to improve my mini-seizures and I have.  With the help of medication, now I can hear what other people are saying when I’m in the mini-seizure and can finish a sentence if I’m in the middle of one.

Even though I have epilepsy, I’m proud I have it and no matter what happens I can always help others in the same situation.